Emergency Room FAQ

As an emergency medical facility, we make seeing emergent clients our priority. While you may come in for a COVID-19 test, we recommend that previously negative repeat test patients contact their primary physician or other resources to perform repetitive or routine testing.

You may qualify for repeat testing at Village Emergency Centers if:

• You develop additional or worsening symptoms since the time of initial testing
• You have persistent symptoms related to COVID-19
• You experience another emergency exposure to COVID-19 that might lead to an emergency medical condition

For those who have tested positive but wish to discontinue quarantining, we do not recommend retesting. Instead, please follow CDC guidelines for ending quarantining. If you require retesting for travel or work-related purposes, we ask that you schedule this through your primary physician. You may also seek community resources for work-return testing.

If you were previously infected with COVID-19 and have recovered, but are now experiencing symptoms again, we recommend making an appointment with a physician. Unless your symptoms are severe and need emergency treatment, you should not come to Village Emergency Centers for repeat testing. It is uncommon that a person contracts COVID-19 more than once, so it is likely that you are suffering from another virus or illness.

The CDC recommends testing if you have been in close contact with someone with COVID-19, if you are a resident in a community where there is an ongoing spread of the virus, or if you develop symptoms of COVID-19.

Due to the emergent nature surrounding the development of COVID-19 tests, the processes for FDA-authorization are different. During a public health emergency, the FDA utilizes different authorizations and tests in order to meet the urgent need for products:

Emergency Use Authorization (EUA):

For applicable emergencies, the FDA can issue a EUA to allow for more timely access to essential medical products when there are no other approved options available. This EUA process is not the same thing as full approval, but the FDA does evaluate the options using whatever evidence is available, weighing the pros and cons before extending the EUA.

Lab Developed Test (LDT):

An LDT test is a laboratory diagnostic test that is manufactured by and used within a single laboratory. Under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, the FDA is able to provide flexibility to labs that develop and perform their own testing. These tests are validated and sent to the FDA with the corresponding data.

State Authorization:

The FDA is providing flexibility to states who want to authorize labs certified to conduct high-complexity tests in that state to develop and perform coronavirus testing. Under this policy, the state or territory takes responsibility for the safety and accuracy of COVID-19 testing by laboratories in its state/territory and the lab does not submit a EUA request to the FDA.

A COVID-19 viral test tells you if you have a current infection. The two types of viral tests are:

Antigen Detection Test

The antigen detection test is done on a sample of tissue that might be infected by using a special light. If there are viral antigens attached to the cells of the sample tissue, the patient is infected with the virus.

Viral Molecular Detection Test

This test uses a sample of tissue, blood, or other fluid to look for the genetic material of a specific virus. This test may show the exact virus causing an infection.

Antibody tests tell you if you had a previous infection. These types of tests may not be able to show if you have a current infection, because it can take 1-3 weeks after infection to make antibodies.